Volume One, Chapter 13: The Madman

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Mr. Jack is missing too!?

No, something’s off...

Qin Shang’s eyes quickly scanned through her diary again; her intuition told her this person’s mental illness was no ordinary case.

At first, she thought it might be related to the knocking and the disappearances.

But the more Qin Shang thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Why had so many people encountered trouble, yet the diary’s author remained unharmed?

And in the end, Mr. Jack disappeared as well!

The conductor of a steam train has to add coal and firewood, fill in the duty logs and speed reports, and coordinate all colleagues.

According to the diary’s author, all the colleagues were dead—so how could just two people keep order?

Moreover, the diary never mentioned a second conductor. Steam trains move slowly and usually run to nearby destinations; a round trip often takes at least a week.

There’s no way there’s only one conductor.

“Since Conductor Jack is gone, I have to fulfill my duty. I gathered the passengers, hoping to get through the last day…” Qin Shang felt as if a thick fog had enveloped her mind; her expression darkened like rainclouds ready to burst.

This diary’s author was clearly unwell, so the diary couldn’t be taken at face value.

Yet strangely, the game’s background setting didn’t mention any Mr. Jack.

Also, the diary’s account of passengers being brutally murdered didn’t align with the background.

No, the diary and background seemed to be reversed in one key aspect.

The background depicted Miss Mary leading passengers in resisting the slaughter, but the diary never mentioned such a person. The background had no Mr. Jack, yet the diary mentioned Mr. Jack everywhere.

Among the clues obtained so far, the only named individuals were Mr. Jack and Al.

There was actually a photo underneath, but Qin Shang didn’t quite understand it.

It was an image taken by a very old camera, pasted near the diary. A figure wearing a dress stood at the very front of a train car, raising a hand as if to call everyone together.

Inside the train, everyone looked up at her attentively, as though she was saying something important.

Although the photo’s low resolution obscured facial expressions, every face appeared serious.

At the very least, no one was smiling broadly.

This was why, at first, no one understood the diary’s contents and mistook them all for newspapers.

Oh right, there were indeed newspapers...

In the previous train car.

Just then, a clear voice sounded beside Qin Shang.

“Big brother, are we really not going to continue exploring the mission?”

Qin Shang finally came back to himself and glanced at the little girl.

“You want to keep scheming with those guys? Then die inexplicably in the game?”

The little girl’s face turned pale; she shook her head like a rattle.

Qin Shang shrugged with meaning.

“So, splitting up isn’t necessarily a bad thing when our identities in each other’s instances are unclear.”

“Splitting up might even ensure more people survive.”

The little girl was no fool. While Qin Shang was studying the things on the window earlier, she had been pondering the underlying logic.

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Perhaps she had just realized something.

“Would you be willing to come with me to the first train car?”

The next moment, Qin Shang invited the little girl.

He wanted to take another look at the things on the first car’s window.

Earlier, he hadn’t ‘decoded’ them, so he hadn’t examined the newspapers closely.

“Grandpa Bull cosplaying as a maid to seduce Strong Mom”—the little girl nodded with a pale face.

Being alone here was too gloomy and scary; the little girl would go mad...

At least with Qin Shang, she had company!

Upon reaching the first car, Qin Shang’s gaze immediately fell on the window.

At first glance, he noticed a difference: the diary’s content was different!

“Miss Mary’s condition is severe. Since she boarded, I can clearly see her frowning every day. I think the oppressive environment in the carriage caused her mental illness to relapse.”

“She has been reporting to me for the past two days, suspecting a passenger is missing. But I counted everyone and found no one gone. It seems her condition has worsened.”

“However, something interesting happened. During a casual chat, I learned we share the same psychologist. Quite a coincidence. My doctor advised me to take advantage of operating the train to interact with passengers more—it would help my post-war trauma recover.”

Miss Mary!

Here the diary mentioned Miss Mary.

Wait...

Since the other diary mentioned Mr. Jack but not Mary, could that diary belong to the Mary from the background?

But Mary’s diary clearly showed her mental state was unstable!

Even the normal order of expression was off!

Qin Shang frowned; perhaps Jack’s diary recorded key clues?

His gaze fixed on the window.

“Someone has disappeared!”

Then came a thunderous sentence.

So... someone really had gone missing!?

Qin Shang was stunned. He had thought the neighboring diary owner was just imagining things.

There were too many doubts: someone was missing, yet she remained unharmed.

Even Mr. Jack wasn’t spared in her diary—so who was driving the train?

This woman was clearly unwell, so the facts might not match the diary’s content.

Yet Jack’s diary also said someone had disappeared!

So it was true?

A chill ran down Qin Shang’s spine.

“Last night during my patrol, I knocked on Mary’s door. She didn’t answer. The missing person was Mary.”

“As an excellent soldier on the battlefield, my military identity forbids me from letting comrades disappear under my watch. Even if they are passengers, this is my battlefield. So the villain must be among the passengers.”

“I must root out the villain from among the people.”

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“Recently, I saw news about guys like me who left the battlefield but couldn’t leave killing behind—used stones as pillows, lived in caves, ambushed with guns, under constant stress, unable to adapt to society, and started committing massacres and crimes.”

“I suspect someone like that is on this train.”

“A madman like Jack the Ripper—I won’t allow it. I must stop him!”

Hmm?

This sentence...

Below it was a cut-out news photo pasted in, showing Jack the Ripper.

In late 19th-century London, this madman was frequently reported on; Jack the Ripper’s name was known worldwide.

He was a notorious demon of the late 19th century—no wonder Qin Shang saw this sentence upon boarding.

“I’ve brought my shotgun tonight. I’ll continue patrolling.”

“No abnormalities. Someone is missing.”

Qin Shang: ?

Was this diary really written by a sane person?

“No abnormalities,” but “someone is missing”—do those two statements connect?

People were missing, yet he said no abnormalities?

“No abnormalities, but still someone’s missing.”

“No abnormalities, yet people are missing.”

“No abnormalities, but my colleagues have disappeared, though they didn’t really like me.”

“No abnormalities, a few passengers teased my outfit during the day, then they disappeared. I suspect someone wants to frame me.”

Wait...

That last sentence sounds familiar!?

“I’m going to hold a trial to judge the demons among these people. I gathered them together.”

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck Qin Shang. His mind raced, feverishly extracting useful information.

Though Mary’s diary was somewhat deranged, it was clear she had been involved throughout the incident.

She kept emphasizing passengers and colleagues disappearing.

But in Jack’s diary, Mary was the one who disappeared at the start.

Their diaries didn’t match...

“Mary appeared in my dreams. She said the demon knocks at midnight. I believe her. I must continue patrolling and slowly plan the trial.”

“Too many missing people. Every day I knock on employees’ and passengers’ doors to check if they are alive.”

Dream...?

Do foreigners have this concept too?

Qin Shang twitched his mouth, suddenly feeling Mr. Jack wasn’t so reliable either.

Buddy, you’re clearly quite unwell!